Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-10-21
far of The sounds grew nearer and
louder. though the strain was still soft
and the music seemed TO be hnYPrinp over

|
beginning. 1t beats the dark room and
| the concertina.n
The habitues of the house--those who
were accustomed to manilcstatiOns-uod-
| Ed their heads apprUviugly. This was,
| certainly, so far, better than the ordinary
| business. Still, they looked on calmly
| critical Music Mt Il seance is not an origi-
nal feature. Mr.. Emanuel Chick scowl-
ed, perhaps because he did noe understand
how it was done perhaps because he felt
| himself Ill used by his own spirits, who
had never consented 10 vouchsafe mus sic
except III a darkened ROOM
| When the music died away it was fol
lowed by a most meodiuu5 tinkling of
silver bells, which behaved exactly like
the music, drawing nearer tinkling i'm
mediately above Herr Pauluss head and
theu recedng.
Good business again, Dodo," Tom
whispered but old. We've heard the
bells before To be sure the room was
always dark. Wonder how the beggar
does it,"
Then 10 a miracle Herr Paulus sud
denly threw up both his arms and there
were seen fluttering into his hands two
light and thin packets of silver paper.
Where did they come from Observe
that the room was quite full of people
that they wee all looking on that there
was blaze of light and chat the testi-
mony of all--all but one-would have
been exactly the same. 81 saw" they
! Il,
the ceiling into Herr Paulus's hands"
The one exception was the young man OF
science. Tom, more prudent, would have
said, The papers seemed to fall into the
mans hands" This, it will be observed,
involves great reservations
Herr Paulus gave the packets into the
hands of Lady Augusta.
"Do not open them yet" he said. "You
are going to witness really remarkable
illustration of the powers possessed by
my friends. Take it as Il special mark OF
their favor"
Then he turned and surveyed his au
dience without the least touch of triumph
IN his eyes and he did not, as Mr.. Eman-
uel Chick would have done, proceed to
call attention To the wonderful nantes
tation Of the spirits. He looked round
the faces slowly, as if searching for some
thing, They represented all the stages of
bewilderment from the cataleptiC condi-
ton of those who believe everything they
see, to the irritated and puzzled condl-
ton Of those who see and yet preserve
something of the critical faculty. Mr.
Emanuel Chick from his position in the
rear watched the operator jealousy /; La
vlnia Medlock, obviously Tom, suspic-
iously.
The fellow conjures" said Tom, "as
well as MaSkelyne and Cook"
"HushN' said Sibyl perhaps he is
going to do something much finer. See"
Did you ever see the mild Hlndoo per
form his feats ? When you have done so,
You will 90 about for the rest of your life
declaring that the impossible became pos
sible that miracles We're performed be-
fore vour eyes compared with which the
sanity records are poor and tame. Men
are decapitated before the eyes OF the au-
dieuce and then restored to their heads ;
boys are stabbed and gashed all over with
out consequent injury deadly snakes are
handled with impunlty dry sucks dos
som like AarOas rod. Why, great In
dian Emperor has set down in writing, SO
that all may read, how some JugglerS
came to him and performed, before him
and all his court, % distinct miracles,
each one more wonderful than its prede-
cessor Do you think they actually do
the tricks Not SO and yet those who
tell OF them do not lie What happens
then If one could answer that ques-
ton one could produce exactly the same
effects as those for which these same jug
glers got the imperial gift of fifty thou
sand rupees, many years before the de-
, probation of that coin.
"Some of you," said Herr Paulus,
"have heard of certain orientals who pos
sess powers which are now unknown o
the West. | say now, because there Is
evidence that in the middle ages, and
even later, there have been many VINO
had attained III some measure to THESE
powers. There have been monks VINO
could converse with the spirits. There
was nun named ltlluGBdTulS W Nv III ulO-
ments of rapture could compel the other
, nuns to think exactly as she pleased.
: There were also the brothers and sisters
OF the free spirit, VINO arrived at great
powers and the So-called friends OF God,
who were also spritualists of nigh or
der. 1t is, therefore, no new thing That
you are invited to observe. Among the
powers ar, those of conversing with each
other without respect to distance OF JON
ing each other instantaneously of know,
lug what their friends are saying ana
I thinking of tel ing what is in the minds
of those who are not their friends of
. making people see what they order, say
what they wish, think what they choose.
These powers are not born with us they
are conferred or acquired as one advances
, in true wisdom. You know that rs you
climb higher the air grows clearer ana
the vision sharper. 1t Is so with the an
cigut way. Or to take another lllustra-
tion if you dig wells in the ground they
will naturally fill with water. Noudo not
. pour water into them. The waters MI
r them by the laws OF nature. do nor
: pretend to these powers in their highest
form. But | will try to show you what
, some of them meau"
! He looked again about the room; All
: faces were turned toward him all eyes
looked into his, and to some il seemed as
, if his eyes saw through them into the
hidden soul. But perhaps that was due
to the excitement OF the nerves.
The blind girl, Cicely Langston, sat i'm
mediateJy before him. Beside her sat her
! companion, Hetty Medlock Cicely was
sitting in her customary impassive atti-
:, tude. her hands in her lap, but her cheek
was flushed and she was excited by the
, strange music aud the bells, and the Won
drous talk about supernatural powers of
l the young man with the soft and musical
j., voice Her fingers nervously opened and
closed her lips trembled, half parted.
"Hetty," she whispered why is he
stopping Tell me-tell me-what is he
a doing ?"
"He is asking Mrs. Tracy Hanley to
play something, it is she who is playing"
"Oh it is coarse and common after the
other music" said Cicely, go Ga. Het-
ty, what neXtW
. "Oh is it true . Is it true &? Can it be
; true after all ?" A strange question for
the daughter of medium. FHetty had
turned pale and her eyes were fixed upon
Herr Paulus Now he is standing quite
= still he is looking slowly round the
Z room he is looking at Sibyl and at Lady
i Augusta. lie is looking-oh he is look